Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is said to have met with two of the country’s most prominent business leaders, including Genting Group’s Lim Kok Thay, to discuss the possibility of granting a second casino license for an embattled US$100 billion residential development in Johor, near the Singapore border.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Prime Minister Anwar last week floated the idea with Lim as well as Vincent Tan – the founder of local conglomerate Berjaya Corp – during a meeting held at the site of the Forest City development.
Forest City, which is dotted with high-rise condominiums built on reclaimed land, was envisioned as an elite township targeting Chinese investors but has struggled to attract significant interest due to a crackdown by Beijing on its citizens investing overseas as well as the timing of the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple local media reports have described Forest City as a “ghost town”.
Bloomberg writes that a casino is seen as one way of invigorating the township and is supported by the project’s master developer, the Chinese-owned Country Garden Holdings. Malaysia’s King Ibrahim Iskander could also back any such move given he holds a personal 20% stake in the Forest City joint venture.
It has been suggested that other members of the royal family may also be invited to invest in any major casino development.
Genting Group has held Malaysia’s only casino license since 1969 for its Genting Highlands resort, Resorts World Genting, and would therefore lend valuable expertise to any new casino-related project.
Tan, meanwhile, has long expressed his desire to hold a casino license of his own but previous advances have been rejected. Berjaya Corp is involved in real estate development and operates brands such as Starbucks and 7-Eleven across Malaysia, among other interests.
UPDATE: Genting Malaysia and Berjaya deny supposed Forest City discussions
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